JOINING THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Make the dream of our patriot ancestors a reality. Hundreds of thousands of men are eligible for membership, and members are available to assist you with your application process. The SAR provides interested members with leadership opportunities, avenues to serve your community, and activities to help safeguard our precious heritage.

The process of becoming a member of the Sons of the American Revolution requires a number of steps:

  • Determine your eligibility
  • Contact an SAR chapter near you
  • Gather documentation and complete the membership form
  • Submit the application with the necessary fees

If you live in the five county area of Northwest Virginia(image at left),the periphery to the east or the panhandle of West Virginia and are interested in becoming a member of the SAR by joining the Colonel James Wood, II Chapter based in Winchester Virginia, please complete the Membership Inquiry Form. One of our chapter new member mentors will contact you to help you with the process.

If you live in Virginia, you can find the Chapter nearest you at the Virginia Society Chapters Page.

More information can be found at the www.sar.org.

You are also invited to attend any chapter meeting as they are open to the public. Come and see why the Colonel James Wood, II Chapter is the Best Large Chapter in Virginia year after year.

DOCUMENTING EASY CASES

First, let's take the easiest case. If you have a relative in the SAR, DAR, or C.A.R., then your patriot ancestor's name, service, and a good portion of the lineage may have already been determined and documented. Thus, you could only need to be able to document and prove your relationship to the relative and what is called a record copy of the relative's SAR, DAR or C.A.R. application.

While an SAR record copy is already on file at the national headquarters, the SAR chapter and/or state-level society registrars may wish to check your application against the existing application already on file. They will want to verify the accuracy of the dates and names shown on both yours and the relative's applications.

As an SAR applicant, you typically need only your own birth certificate, your parents' marriage license, and a record copy of your father's or mother's application. If the relative was a grandfather or grandmother, you would need the documents connecting your father or mother to them. Other connections to a previous or current SAR, DAR or C.A.R., especially prior to 1985, member may require additional materials.

An SAR chapter or society officer can request record copies from the SAR, DAR, or C.A.R. Details concerning the DAR and C.A.R.'s record copy procedures can be found on their organizations website.

Other organizations may require military service for membership, but the SAR and DAR do not. Those who served in local governments; signed oaths of allegiance; or provided food, clothing, or services to the American Army are acceptable as patriot ancestors.

DOCUMENTING DIFFICULT CASES

Not every applicant has an easy case though, one in which a family member has already completed much of the genealogical research. Some individuals may need to do some of the research for themselves. If this is your case, do not fear: it is becoming easier to find the required documents. Some of these resources are included below to help you get started:

  • Wills and Deeds Before 1850
  • The Census: 1790 to 1940
  • Recent Generations: Back to 1900
  • Helpers, Latter-Day Saints Genealogical Archive, International Genealogical Index , and Biographical Sketches
  • Vital Records(Birth, Marriage and Death Records)
  • Church, Cemetery and Funeral Director Records
  • Fraternal Associations, Military Records, and Academic Records
  • Tax Records, County Minutes, Court Records, Orphan Records, Necrologies, Newspapers
  • National and State Archives, Pension records.

MISTAKES TO AVOID!

There are many pitfalls but all genealogists have to start somewhere. Here is a list of some common mistakes:

  • Using other people's family trees without verifying them. Ancestry.com and similar sites have many errors, repeated time and again.
  • Relying only on the Census. There are lots of people who never get listed on the census, there are sometimes mistakes and some census records are missing.
  • Trusting Family Lore. Granny might have meant well, but she leaped to the wrong conclusion. Stories get embellished over time.
  • Connecting the wrong "same name" people. Some names were quite common and families that lived close together with several branches may have a "same name" marriage.
  • Abbreviations are not always what they seem.
  • Children listed without parents may not be orphans. Census takers have been known to record the names of everyone in the house, even guests. Some children were apprentices.
  • Transpositions. People make mistakes. They transpose letters and numbers. Sometimes a nickname is recorded, names are misspelled.
  • Ignoring migration patterns and accepting locations that really don't make sense
  • DAR, SAR and published family history records are often wrong!